Culture, the seed of peace

The children run across the field to catch each other. For the duration of a game, they forget that on the front, thousands of kilometers to the east, members of their families are also pursuing each other – but to kill each other. The scene takes place in a summer camp organized on a mountain in the Vercors by the Acer-MJO (Christian Action of Russian Students – Orthodox Youth Movement).

The children present are lucky to be far from the offensives and counter-offensives. that are shaking Ukraine and the Russian border region, with their share of nuclear threats. Their families have left kyiv or Moscow since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some came to France to escape the bombings, others to escape Putin’s warlike ideology.

Founded in 1923 by Russians who fled the Bolshevik revolution, For a century, Acer-MJO has been working to keep the Orthodox faith alive while preserving elements of the country of its founders. Today, this common ground allows Ukrainians, Russians and descendants of the first emigration to talk to each other, understand each other and form friendships. Russian culture – linguistic, religious, musical – makes such communication possible, far from any nationalist claims.

For the descendants of emigrants who have integrated into France while retaining a part of their original identity, their roots then take on a new meaning. They allow this meeting between two peoples who are tearing each other apart while they share so much. They also make possible mediation towards the culture of the host country. This summer, in the Vercors, Ukrainians and Russians shared the songs of Bulat Okudjava – the “Soviet Brassens” – sang a prayer to the melody known to all, explored the slopes of the pre-Alps massif while evoking the memory of his Resistance fighters. Step by step, peace is built, as fragile as a child’s laughter.